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Crisp spinach and lettuce, sweet raspberries and juicy pears topped with an easy Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette make this salad the one to beat. It’s an easy and delicious salad that is the perfect compliment to any meal.
Every year on Christmas Eve we have a lovely meal that starts with this salad. It’s made up of lettuce (usually Romaine and/or spinach), pears (we like the red ones), raspberries, dried cranberries, pecans and crumbled goat cheese (or Gorgonzola or Feta), and a bottled Raspberry dressing.
And then we don’t eat it again for a year.
Believe it or not, we actually just realized that this past Christmas. We literally were eating this salad, which my entire family could scarf down in practically one bite, one day a year. It’s not because it’s difficult to make, and it’s not because the ingredients are hard to find. Nope. Apparently we just forgot that we didn’t have to reserve one of our all-time favorite things to a holiday.
So we decided that we were going to make it more often. I thought it might be easier (and cheaper) to make the dressing from scratch. I sought out recipes and eventually picked and chose ingredients that I thought would taste the same and came up with this super easy Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette.
It’s simple to make with a few fresh raspberries, olive oil, balsamic and white wine vinegar. Pulsed in a blender or food processor blends it up really well, but the seeds are left behind so you’ll want to have a fine mesh colander to strain the dressing through.
Once the seeds are strained out, you’re left with about 1 cup of dressing. It will keep nicely in a tightly sealed container for about a week. But I doubt you’ll be able to refrain from eating all in a couple of days.
For best results, you’ll want to follow the dressing recipe, but the salad itself can be tailored to your likes; use as much or as little as you want of the lettuces, fruits and nuts. But please don’t skimp on the goat cheese (it’s my favorite part!).
Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- Honey to taste
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Raspberry Vinaigrette
- In a blender or food processor, combine raspberries, vinegars, olive oil and a tablespoon or so of honey. Pulse in the blender until smooth. Add salt and pepper as desired.
- Strain the seeds from the dressing with a fine mesh colander.
- Store in a tightly sealed glass jar or container for up to one week in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Looking for more delicious salads? Try these:
Strawberry & Feta Chicken Salad
For all Salad recipes go HERE, for all Side Dishes go HERE and for the Recipe Index go HERE.
Raspberry vinaigrette was way too “oily” with 1/2 cup oil. I ended up adding more raspberries (another 1/2 cup) and a touch more vinegar and honey. Now it’s delicious!
Thank you for your feedback Janice. We love the recipe just as it is, but I understand that everyone has different tastes. Glad you were able to adjust it to your liking!